Westmoreland campus clippings: Latrobe grad Jake Biss shines in return from injury

Jake Biss is back in the Shippensburg basketball lineup and it didn’t take him long to make an impact.

He was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division Athlete of the Week after a couple of 20-point games.

In just his third game since returning from an injury, the grad student guard out of Latrobe poured in 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists to pace the Raiders (6-3, 3-1) to a PSAC victory over Pitt-Johnstown, 76-62.

He added 20 points, 17 in the second half, as the Raiders defeated IUP, 72-60.

Biss made 7 of 14 shots against UPJ, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

Against IUP, he made 4 of 5 3-pointers, grabbed eight rebounds and dished four assists.

Biss scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, including 4-of-5 from three-point range in the second half. He matched his career high with eight rebounds, handed out four assists

The 2019-20 PSAC East Athlete of the Year and NABC All-District first-teamer is averaging 13.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in three games this season.

He has more than 1,100 career points.

Men’s basketball

Charlotte: Grad guard Austin Butler (Latrobe) had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 68-67 victory over Valparaiso. Both totals are season highs. He made 7 of 11 shots in the win.

Pitt-Greensburg: The Bobcats made it two wins in their last three games, erupting for 104 points as they toppled Pitt-Bradford, 104-95, for an AMCC victory to improve to 3-7, 2-1.

Senior guard Matt Johnson scored 20 to lead UPG, while sophomore swingman Micah Jones added 19, junior JoJo France and freshman Lukas Swarts had 16 points each, and sophomore Reggie Priah and freshman Jaylen Williams had 11 apiece.

Seton Hill: The Griffins broke a 17-game losing streak with their first win of the season, 69-59 against Shepherd, as junior Samuel Tabe scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Sunday.

Sophomore Ryan Meis added 13 points, freshman Miles Monchecourt 12, and sophomore Sean Dillon 11 to go with six assists. The Griffins also broke a 12-game losing streak on their home floor.

West Liberty: Sophomore guard Bryce Butler (Latrobe) scored a career-high 28 points, 18 in the second half, and grabbed 10 rebounds, to lead the 10th-ranked Hilltoppers (9-1, 5-1 Mountain East) to an 86-84 win over West Virginia State.

Butler is averaging 17.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in 26.1 minutes a game.

York: Senior guard Sean Kelly (Penn-Trafford) has started all 10 games this season and is averaging 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 23.5 minutes. He is second on the team with 26 assists.

Women’s basketball

Grove City: Junior guard Megan Kallock (Greensburg Salem) had 24 points and senior forward Allison Podkul (Hempfield) added nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds in an 85-81 loss to Eureka in the Cruzin’ Classic, held at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla.

In the team’s previous game, Podkul scored 14 and freshman guard Mara Polczynski had four assists in an 82-59 win over Eureka.

The Wolverines are 5-4 heading into the holiday break.

Marshall: Freshman guard Sarah Liberatore (Hempfield) scored a career-high 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench, making 4 of 6 3-pointers as the Thundering Herd downed Alderson Broaddus, 88-56.

Pitt-Greensburg: Just like the men’s team, UPG topped the century mark in a win over Pitt-Bradford as the Bobcats moved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the AMCC in what has been a season of stops and starts due to covid-19 protocols.

Junior Nadege Durand had 24 points and junior Shaquoia McCoy scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in a 105-52 win.

It was the team’s largest margin of victory since it defeated Hilbert 86-24 in 2010.

Sophomore Maddie Sitler and freshman Melina Maietta (Greensburg Central Catholic) each chipped in 14 points, and freshman Sidney McCully had 11 and 10 rebounds.

Seton Hill: The Griffins pushed their winning streak to three with a 61-59 upset victory against No. 20-ranked Shepherd. Grad forward Katie Nolan’s layup with 16 seconds remaining gave them a 60-59 lead.

Nolan finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while senior Sonia Sarda scored 13 and sophomore Christiane Frye chipped in 10.

Seton Hill (9-4) moved back into the D2SIDA Atlantic Regional poll this week, checking in at No. 10.

Wrestling

Bucknell: A pair of locals each went 2-0 in a tri-match against Buffalo and Lock Haven with one of them scoring an upset.

Sophomore 133-pounder Kurt Phipps (Norwin) clipped No. 29-ranked Derek Spann of Buffalo, 9-5, as the Bison dropped an 18-15 decision overall.

Phipps added a major decision victory against Lock Haven and earned Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week.

Senior Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon), meantime, racked up bonus points twice on the way to two wins. Hartman is ranked 15th in the nation at 165 pounds. He is tied for eighth all-time at Bucknell with 24 career pins.

Men’s indoor track and field

Seton Hill: Senior hurdler Sam Hartman was named the PSAC Track Athlete of the Week. Hartman reached a NCAA provisional mark of 8.11 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles at the YSU Holiday Classic. His time gave him a third-place finish and it is the second-fastest time in the PSAC this season.

Women’s cross country

Seton Hill: Freshman Hannah Smrcka was named the PSAC rookie of the year, and Griffins coach Bobby Over the conference’s coach of the year.

Smrcka led Seton Hill to runner-up finishes in the PSAC and NCAA Atlantic Regional championships. She was the top placing freshman at the PSAC finals, taking eighth overall. She was ninth at the regional run.

Over guided the Griffins to the NCAA Division II championship meet.

Smrcka joined teammates senior Sydney Wolf and junior Isabelle McCabe as All-PSAC first-team selections.

Men’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: Three Griffins players made USA Lacrosse Magazine’s preseason All America team. Senior goalkeeper Kevin Mo was a first-team pick, grad student midfielder Thomas Hanulak earned second team honors, and senior face-off specialist Logan Gray was picked for the third team.